Robert W. Baird Issues Positive Forecast for Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Stock Price

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price objective boosted by Robert W. Baird from $260.00 to $270.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on NSC. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.74.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $257.50 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $249.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.26 billion, a PE ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.34. Norfolk Southern has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.50%. Analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 13.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $25,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.